Cold Brewed Ice Coffee

I've only been a coffee drinker for 4 or 5 years.  It wasn't until college that I really started enjoying a nice cup of hot coffee and it's only been in the last year that I rely on a cup every morning to jump-start my day.  My mom's a huge coffee lover but it was Starbucks that got me hooked. I know it's cliche but it's the truth.

It all started with what's now my favorite drink: Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I have shared with you my love of all things pumpkin and a pumpkin spice latte is no exception.  It's by far my favorite drink and what got me started loving coffee.  While in college we had a few Starbucks on campus.  I found myself frequenting the one in our student center almost every morning from Oct. to Jan. when the Pumpkin Spice Latte was available.  Once it was gone, I started bringing my own regular coffee in a thermos almost everyday. And I quickly realized that although I loved a latte I also really enjoyed a regular cup of coffee as well.

The idea of cold coffee was never appealing to me until I got a Frappuccino one day.  It was during the summer and I'm pretty sure it was in the 90's but I was craving coffee.  There was NO WAY I was going into Starbucks and ordering a hot cup with sweat dripping off me from the short walk from my car into the cafe.  It started with a frappuccino and quickly I was determined to make my own iced coffee.  While I still enjoy Starbucks, it's not in my budget to go there everyday or even once a week really.  Since I'm not in college, there isn't one close to me, which is a good thing.

I have tried about four different ice coffee recipes and this one I found at Take A Megabite is my favorite so far.  Why is it my favorite? It's simple and only calls for coffee, water, milk (heavy cream in my case) and I add chocolate syrup and a little sugar.  I always have these ingredients on hand so it's budget friendly :) I don't like my coffee really strong so this recipe works for me but you can tweak it as you see fit. 

Cold Brewed Ice Coffee
Original Source: Smitten Kitchen 
Found on: Take A Megabite

Ingredients:

1/3 cup ground coffee (I buy whole bean and grind it myself)
1 1/2 cups water
heavy cream or milk
chocolate syrup
sugar

Directions:

Mix ground coffee and water, cover and allow to sit overnight at room temperature.

Strain coffee twice with a fine mesh sieve that's been lined with cheesecloth or you can use a coffee filter. 

Fill your glass half full with ice and pour in coffee, heavy cream/half&half/milk, and a few tablespoons of chocolate syrup and sugar if desired.

Sip and ENJOY!